Buying the Best Deal in Used Guitars

Buying the Best Deal in Used Guitars
By Victor Epand

Probably the most popular type of instrument for starting out musicians is the guitar. How can it not be? Children these days are raised on the music of the guitar, from Buddy Holly, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page to Kurt Cobain, Kirk Hammett and Jack White.

The guitar is something that so many people play, that there is a surplus of guitars all over the world for kids to try their hands out on.While not the easiest instrument to use, it is certainly not the hardest. For this reason, millions of kids in North America and around the world take up the guitar, about the time many take up the piano, because it has proven to be so popular.

This then creates a problem for parents because often the price of guitars is not low, and that means many families have to choose between paying for the guitars and encouraging the growth of their musical child, or not buying the instrument that may result in a lost opportunity for the child, and the family. So what can a family do?

Well, the best thing they can do is to buy a used guitar. A used guitar is not something that is going to be dinged and barely playable, but will in fact be an excellent training tool for your child to try out their musical gift on.Buying a used guitar has many benefits to it that parents need to look at.

First of all, there is the cost. Used guitars cost much, much less than other new types of guitars. Often, you can expect to pay hundreds of dollars for a new guitar, but only $100 or less for used guitars. These savings mean that you will have a much easier chance getting a guitar for your son or daughter to begin training on.

Second, there is a risk your child may bore of the guitar and stop playing it. If this happens, you are on the hook for a lot of money with a new guitar and if you sell it, you are looking at a huge loss. However, with a used guitar from a pawn shop, you pay little for it and you will not worry about breaking the bank when it only cost you $75. Then, if your child stops playing, you sell it at another pawn shop for $50 to $100, and you are no worse for wear. If the child does not bore of the guitar and begins to love it, then you can think about trading that guitar in for a newer and better one.

Used guitars are very popular among parents because they allow them to encourage their children to try musical hobbies that may benefit them later in life. They cost less, they don't force you to hope your child does not bore of them, and they can be traded in for the same cost when you do get rid of it. For any parent, used guitars are the best option.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for used CDs, autographed CDs, and used musical instruments. You can find the best marketplace for used CDs, autographed CDs, and used musical instruments at these sites for used guitar CDs, autographed guitar CDs, and used guitars.

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Playing Guitar 10 - Different Guitars for Different Purposes

Playing Guitar 10 - Different Guitars for Different Purposes
By Guglielmo Bill F. Franco

Have you ever noticed how famous/professional guitarists have lots of different guitars? There's a good reason for this - different guitars have different sounds and thus are used for different purposes. There are two main classes of guitar, acoustic and electric, and within these are various types of guitars that fill a specific purpose:

Acoustic

• Steel-string (eg: Dreadnaught)

The steel strings produce a brighter tone, and according to many players, a louder sound. The acoustic guitar is used in many kinds of music including folk, country, bluegrass, pop, jazz and blues.

• Classical (nylon-string)

These guitars have nylon strings and produce a warm, round sound. They're typically associated with Classical music, though they are used in everything from Jazz, Country, and some rock.

• 12-string

These produce a big, full sound by having octave strings for the low E, A, D and G strings and unison strings for the B and high E. It is fretted in the same manner as a standard 6-string guitar. It is used in just about every style of music except Jazz and Classical. There is a spin off of the 12-string, wherein a guitar is strung with only the complimentary (octave and unison) strings and then used to double another guitar part. It's known as "Nashville" tuning.

Electric

• Solid-body

The classic rock guitar. The solid body of this guitar allows one to play at the louder volumes preferred by rock musicians and their audiences without the uncontrolled feedback that can result in hollow and even semi-hollow body guitars. Because their structure and shape has little effect on sound quality as compared to acoustic or other hollow guitars, the shapes can be as radical as the owner or designer wants. Also, this structural stability allows for the extreme use of vibrato bars such as the Floyd Rose, without the damage that could otherwise occur with the changes in tension.

• Hollow-body

Most of these guitars are also known as archtop guitars because of the arched character or both the soundboard (or face) and back of the guitar. Typically they are strung with flat-would strings and used in more traditional Jazz music. The sound is very warm and smooth, as if the high-end has been rolled off.

• Semi-hollow body

This is a favorite of bluesier guitarists because it has the characteristics of both the fully hollow and the solid body guitar types. One can get the high-end scream of the solid body with the almost acoustic warmth and ring of the hollow body.

Remember, it's impossible to say that one kind of guitar can only be used for a certain kind of music. Also, within each of these general categories, there are a vast number of variations on the themes.

For example, Ted Nugent was famous for using a Gibson Birdland - an archtop usually used for Jazz - for incredibly high-volume rock. He made the resulting feedback (which he learned to control) a trademark of his sound. Also, Earl Klugh, a renowned Jazz Guitarist, used a classical guitar for his Jazz sound - which became instantly recognizable.

I hope this helps to give you a basic understanding of the guitars the players use, when they use them, and why.

Good luck to you and your future guitar adventures!

Touring and session guitarist Bill Franco is based in Clayton, MO and gives lessons throughout the St. Louis region. You may contact him at http://www.billfranco.com/ and http://www.myspace.com/billfrancomusic

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